1. Could it be that Whedon has ripped off something yet again? I haven't seen Dr. Steel, but this certainly wouldn't be Joss' first uncredited ripoff. If anyone wants to see one of his earlier rips check out the series "Starhunter" then check out "Firefly". I like Firefly, but it's far from original. Way to go sompin' the little guy Joss! :)

Posted at 11:34PM on Jul 22nd 2008 by DanJacker"

2. Actually, both "Starhunter" and "Firefly/Serenity" all I think were bites from an anime called "Outlaw Star" which ran in the late 90's, not very original to be honest, everything is exactly the same, almost shamelessly.

Posted at 12:57AM on Jul 23rd 2008 by Dragonsig

3. Thanks for giving these goofballs more publicity than they deserve. "legions of commenters"? A handful, perhaps.

Posted at 4:14AM on Jul 23rd 2008 by Mark H Wilkinson

4. I really dont care if its a ripoff as long as you do it better... and that is what joss did. i just got done watching dr.steel and it was really bad, and if you want to get on a guys case about creating and directing something that resembles a web video that was created and watched by 6 other people go for it...

Posted at 10:28AM on Jul 23rd 2008 by joshua bahr

5. dr. steel actually has thousands of fans, not six.
while I'll admit the two are similar I dont think the idea was stolen and the two are different enough that its sort of stupid to worry about one replacing the other; they do two completely different generes of music for god sake. Plus dr. horribles story is more about him being in love with a girl where as dr. steel really is just all about takeing over the world. they're both mad scientist but each has his own distinct style. rathe rot not one is better is a matter of opinion and it is possible to support one without bashing the other.

p.s. it IS NOT ok to plagerise but, as I said, I dont believe thats what has happened here

Posted at 11:44AM on Oct 15th 2008 by drea

6. Did Joss rip off Dr. Steel?

Who knows? Certainly the mad-scientist thing isn't original. Heck, nothing original is really left.

But each have their own loyal masses and will appeal maybe diffrently to people.

Joss has a lot of loyal fans and lets face it, he does have a lot of talent in creating shows.

Doctor Steel has a lot of loyal fans. No, not 6 mr. Bahr. He has surpassed the 10,000 registered soldier mark. He's a wonderfully talented man and if you watched any of his other work, I"m sure you'd be forced to give him a chance.

Ok so you like Dr. Horrible better. That doesnt' make Dr. Steel *bad*.

I like Dr. Steel better. But I don't think Dr. Horrible is *bad*. I just don't like it as much.

There will be a lot of cross-fans though, who love both and will happily watch/listen to either.

Why does it have to be one or the other? Good grief guys, like there's an original 'boy band' out there. Right now there's the big sub-culture of steam punk going on and Doctor Steel plays very well into that sub-culture.

Each have their place. There is no need to burn one down just to try to build the other up.

Posted at 12:34PM on Jul 23rd 2008 by toysoldier

7. As a Toy Soldier, I can agree largely with my fellow above (toysoldier).

Dr. Steel contains an entire mythos; a legend, a cast of characters, a madman, musical propaganda, and a plan of world domination.

Dr. Horrible is entirely different, yet it contains many of the same elements, right down to the Howie lab coat, the goggles, the world domination, an ask-the-doctor bit, and music. However, despite obvious retreading of the same ideas, It reaches a different crowd altogether.

As for me, Hail Dr. Steel and his Utopian Playland!

Posted at 12:46PM on Jul 23rd 2008 by The Duke

8. Dr. Steel wasn't very good. Maybe it has its audience, but Dr. Horrible has a bigger one for a very simple reason: It's better. (Plus, Joss Whedon has an army of loyal fans that far exceed the seven or eight loyal Toy Soldiers.)
I don't think it matters, as both can exist despite each other. One will just be popular and good and one will be like that author who said J.K. Rowling ripped off "Harry Potter."

Posted at 1:04PM on Jul 23rd 2008 by Harrry

9. at least dr. steel fans dont state their OPINION as though it were undeniable fact

Posted at 11:43AM on Oct 15th 2008 by drea

10. Actually, the toy soldiers That are enlisted are well over 10,000. And That doesn't include his normal fans. And if a Joss fan claims that Horrible's better, then it doesn't really count. Because you're a fan, you're gonna say it's better. I'm a toy soldier, So I'm gonna say Steel's is better, which means mine doesn't really count either. So, guess what? This will eventually be come a big fan boy battle royal fought over the internet. Which to me, fighting over the internet is pointless.

Posted at 2:11PM on Jul 23rd 2008 by Rattlocke

11. Totally. It's all about preference; the kind of humor, music, etc. that you like. It doesn't matter who thinks what is better. They are both still around. Just because one appears doesn't mean the other one can't be enjoyed.
In the end, only kindness matters.

Posted at 2:35PM on Jul 23rd 2008 by hcnelson

12. i like the dr horrible thing no worries there, but after checking out dr steel some more... i personally think steel does it better!

lol is this going to be the next pirates vs ninjas?

Posted at 8:39AM on Jul 24th 2008 by Lauren

13. Dr. Steel came first, and that's worth something in terms of credibility. I'm a registered toy soldier, and more or less a Joss Whedon fan as well. (I haven't watched *every* *single* *episode* of Buffy, et al, ...yet. But I do have the Firefly box set.)

I think Dr. Steel is incredibly talented, outrageous and entertaining. I thought Dr. Horrible was fantastic, entertaining and hilarious. But in fact, the first time I laid eyes on Dr. Horrible, one of my first thoughts was, "Oh my gosh, he's a Dr. Steel clone!" White lab coat, *goggles*, singing, dancing (kinda) mad scientist bent on world domination? The overlap is unmistakable, and it's a little hard to believe Joss & Co. have never heard of or seen Dr. Steel.

I'm *willing* to believe it, I don't think they're lying about that, it just takes an effort... But they're both archetypes. If someone pitched a project on the basis of 'A singing Dr. Frankenstein type who wants to take over the world', the end result could look like either one.

Frankly, I really enjoy them both and am delighted that they both exist. I don't blame Dr. Steel for taking some exception, and I think it's a good opportunity to stir up a little publicity and get some recognition for the amazing world he's created and the work he's done. It's important that he (and his army) make some noise about this now while it's fresh in the public mind, because there's very little more insulting than being accused of being a 'copy-cat' of something that's been around for only a splinter of a fraction of the time that you've been doing the thing that you're accused of "copying".

I don't think it should turn into something nasty & personal and I hope Dr. Steel and army recognize that, much as I hope that the people who make dismissive comments about Dr. Steel and his "six or seven" toy soldiers come to recognize just how obtuse and oblivious they're being about an incredibly talented and entertaining performer in his own right.

There IS room in the world for both of them. People just need to understand that Dr. Steel was there first! :)

Posted at 7:29PM on Jul 25th 2008 by Malixe

14. Yes! Well said and I doubt anyone will be able to do better.

Posted at 12:56PM on Jul 26th 2008 by Toy Soldier Faye

15. Yeah, sounds like Whedon is somwhat known for taking credit for "original" ideas. I personally have been a fan of Dr.Steel for a few years, and have seen the stuggles that the guy has been going throught to get his musical/show going. Unfortunantly, he is the little guy like some of you have said. I really hope that this does not interfear with Doc's(Steel) shot at something he has been working so hard on for years.........

Posted at 2:43PM on Jul 27th 2008 by Dashelle

16. I kind of worry to see this situation being reported on by the media, as regardless of their intentions, they tend to put forward what is a very simple, skewed, out-of-date snapshot of what is really happening.

Whedon fans: What you, unfortunately, experienced was our knee-jerk reaction to what we initially saw as a threat. It was wrong, we are sorry.
Once the more active and experienced members of the Army of Toy Sodiers had done the research, we did the best we could to put the brakes to aggressive reactions from our fellows.

I myself drafted a report with all the pertinent information that I could find about Dr. Horrible and the developing situation to Dr. Steel and fasttracked it to him. Within a day of the beginning of this Dr. Steel and the Army had changed their policy to one of enlightening Whedon fans about Dr. Steel and embracing this as an opportunity. On Friday at Comic Con there was no sabotage of the panel. We had plainclothes soldiers handing out propaganda and talking to people about it as they left. From what I've heard, there was a fairly warm reception.

By Whedon's statements, the three web episodes and possibly a DVD are as far as Dr. Horrible is likely to go. Everybody from the project is busy with other stuff. If you enjoyed the brief, entertaining silliness that was Dr. Horrible, you'd probably also enjoy Dr. Steel. We would love to have you.

Posted at 4:02PM on Jul 27th 2008 by Green

17. This is pretty ridiculous.

If you're going to costume a mad scientist, you need a labcoat, some hazardous materials gloves, and some variety of goggles. Crazed Einstein hair helps too. (NPH has that naturally.)

Adding a few WWII military stylings to the outfit? That's standard for costuming, especially if you want to look any variety of "bad" or "evil."

As for musicals with mad scientists, Dr. Frank-n-Furter has already been mentioned. To that, I might add memory of a couple musical numbers in Young Frankenstein as well. And the lyrics to "Weird Science", which has Danny Elfman as mad scientist. And does anybody remember Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science," the video of which has Dolby (in white with first goggles and then round spectacles) visiting the Home for Deranged Scientists?

Mad scientists have been around for a while. Singing mad scientists have been around too and it takes a pretty myopic fanboy to think that anything they're seeing is completely original.

For the record, I've watched all of these, and while I think Dr. Steel would be fun in a live show, his videos are yawn-inducing until the music starts.

Posted at 4:40PM on Aug 3rd 2008 by Kevin Andrew Murphy

18. As neither a memer of Joss's cult nor a Toy Soldier, I have to say, frankly, this seems borderling juvenile, like two emo kids battling over whether My Chemical Romance ripped off Marlyin Manson. Hello! They're two completely different things. Any similarities is just something part of the genre. Look, Toy Soldiers, take a breather and Joss guys, you kinda scare me how cult maniancial you sometimes can get.

Dr. Steel: Steel vocal chords and wears glasses all the time with WHITE lab coat.

Dr. Horrible: Broadway vocal chords and wears glasses on head with RED lab coat.

Watch it. Learn. See.

Posted at 10:40PM on Aug 3rd 2008 by Heather

19. Dr. Steele is neither original or funny. Its downright boring...

Posted at 6:37PM on Sep 15th 2008 by jp

20. What? Do I like Kirk or Picard? Star Wars of Star Trek?

Please... I have found members of both factions to be obnoxious and run-of-the-mill outcasts and that's probably because they're all humans.

I like 'em both... cheers to those who don't, cheers to those who do.

Posted at 10:48AM on Sep 21st 2008 by Tolderian